Simulation Daemon

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SimQuest 6.4 help

Simulation Daemon

A simulation deamon is an element that allows you to control other instructional measures by the values of your simulation. For example: With a simulation daemon, you can automatically open an explanation when a particular variable in your simulation reaches a certain value.

Modifying a Simulation Daemon

Modifying a Simulation Daemon

To modify an Simulation Daemon, you have to fill out a number of tab sheets. To access these, you select the Simulation Daemon in the Application window, click right and choose Edit from the menu that appears. The tab sheets you have to fill out are:

General

1.	Select the General tab sheet.

2.	In the Name box, you can specify a name for the Simulation Daemon which the learner will see in the learner view. As the author, you will still see the original name in the Application window.

3.	In the Description box, type a short description of this element. The learner will see this description in the learner environment when he or she selects the element, but does not (yet) start it.

4.	Under Language, the language for this element.

5.	Click Apply.

Control On

In the Control On tab sheet you can make this element perform certain actions with regard to other elements in the application. You can for instance change the settings in such a way that once a this Simulation Daemon is closed, another one will open. Or you could make an explanation open when the target state of this Simulation Daemon is reached. This chapter will help you smoothly control elements in your simulation.

First, set the Start-up state of the Simulation Daemon:

1.	Select the Control On tab sheet.

2.	Select the Start-up state using the radio buttons on top of the tab-sheet:

Activated: the Simulation Daemon will open when the simulation is opened in the learner view.

Enabled: the Simulation Daemon is visible to the learner in the learner view.

Disabled: the learner can see the explanation, but not (yet) activate it.

Invisible: the learner cannot see nor activate this Simulation Daemon.

To set the control structure of an Simulation Daemon, follow these steps:

1.	Decide WHEN you want something to happen. Select one of the elements from the first list.

Activated: the elements below will be activated, enabled, aborted, disabled, or hidden when the Simulation Daemon is activated.

Exited: the elements below will be activated, enabled, aborted, disabled, or hidden when the target state of the Simulation Daemon is reached.

2.	Select a command for the simulation:

No command to: the simulation stays as it is

Compute: the simulation calculates the output value for the given input. Only when ‘Recompute output variables every time a value changes’ is not selected in Simulation Properties.

Compute and Record: the model runs with the current input values and the results are displayed.

Record Value: only for static models: the most recently computed value is recorded on screen. By default, this happens automatically, but you can change it under Simulation Properties.

Reset: all variables in the simulation will be reset to their initial value.

3.	Decide and select WHAT you want to happen.

Activate: The elements that you dragged into the box below will be started/opened.

Enable: The elements below will be presented in the learner view but not started. The learner has to start them.

Abort: The elements below will be closed.

Disable: The elements below will be presented in the learner view but the learner cannot start them.

Hide: The elements below will not be visible in the learner view.

Please note! The element itself is automatically added to the Exited-Enable page. Therefore, when exited, the Simulation Daemon will be visible in the Learner Environment.

Control Overview

You can use the Control Overview tab sheet to check the controls you set in the Control On tab sheet. You can quickly see what will happen if you activate or exit the Simulation Daemon.

1.	Select the Control Overview tab sheet.

2.	Click Activated, Succeeded, Enabled, Failed, or Exited

3.	Look at the controls you specified in each category.

Specification

Here you specify for which values of which variables you want to execute certain actions.

1.	Select the Specification tab sheet.

2.	If you want all to be specified variable values to be reached before the simulation is considered succeeded, click AND, if just one of the specified variables is enough to succeed, click OR.

3.	Click the Enabled box of the variable you want to specify.

4.	Select the appropriate relation between variable and value: <, >, <=, => or =.

5.	Type a Value.

6.	Repeat from step 3 if you want to specify more variables.

7.	Click Apply.